. >> one issue is that it's senator john kerry becomes secretary of state john kerry and suddenly there's a special election in new jersey and some people were thinking about the opportunity for republicans. >> scott brown. >> scott brown is very popular and that's one angle. conservatives also have policy priorities, and one thing we have noticed is that while senator collins has gone one way, criticizing susan rice. i suspect that there are also people that are skeptical that senator kerry shares that position. >> he's more dovish than rice. >> a lot of folks including bill crystal who actually care about these things, are saying wait a second, republicans, susan rice might be a better pick than john kerry. >> he was very careful and he's been careful to not say he's for or against susan rice but he did have a warning for the president. here he is. >> i would just ask that the president step away from all the buzz around this particular situation and take a deep breath and decide who is the best secretary of state for our country, at this time when we have so many issues to deal with. >